Err... Audigy 4?!

[_xxx_]

For gaming you have to go Audigy, I'd say Aud. 2 ZS. Everything else is slower, regardless of the quality discussion.

Sure. And then you can start dealing with various bugs, in a most annoying way.

Creative has the worst audio drivers on this planet.

You don't bother reading the whole thread, do you?

Creative has a product which will work fine out of the box with pretty much all games. There are many cards with better quality and some with better drivers, but these will not work fine with some games, especially if you use EAX.

 

[MasterBaiter]

SOoooo..... Whats a good soundcard? My old SB Live! Value is crapping out and its sounding very flat of late. I`m not too concerned with features, i just want something that sounds really good and won`t tie up my CPU too much when playing games.

I'd probably go with this one if you are on a budget: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-177&depa=0
I use a Creative card, but I'm not their biggest fan. As has been mentioned before... their drivers are mosly mediocre, and they haven't released anything significant in ages (just tweaked if anything).

Its unfortunate that the Soundstorm is apparently going the way of the dodo, and the fact that Creative is too thick-headed to use the Aureal IP is very disturbing as well. All of the really good solutions have pretty much been killed off by people who apparently just don't get it.

 

[Cryect]

Its unfortunate that the Soundstorm is apparently going the way of the dodo, and the fact that Creative is too thick-headed to use the Aureal IP is very disturbing as well. All of the really good solutions have pretty much been killed off by people who apparently just don't get it.

Well its not that Creative is too thick headed rather they find its much easier to buy up competitors and resell the same product with minor modifications they have been making for lets see 6 years now has it been?

 

[MasterBaiter]

The sad thing is that Creative has not used any of Aureals IP (any noticable that is...). I can only hope that their true next-gen tech is a proper step in the right direction. They also bought out Sensaura as well, so they have really cornered the gamer market pretty much (almost smells like a monopoly...)

The only chipset out there right now that looks even remotely interesting is the new C-Media CMI8768+ chipset. Supposedly VIA has something up their sleeves, I'm just wondering if they should keep it up there.

The cards/chipsets I own so far are: Soundstorm, Revolution 7.1 (VIA Envy24HT), Audigy ZS, and an Aureal (hehe, still) Vortex 2.

 

[T2k]

For gaming you have to go Audigy, I'd say Aud. 2 ZS. Everything else is slower, regardless of the quality discussion.

Sure. And then you can start dealing with various bugs, in a most annoying way.

Creative has the worst audio drivers on this planet.

You don't bother reading the whole thread, do you?

Creative has a product which will work fine out of the box with pretty much all games. There are many cards with better quality and some with better drivers, but these will not work fine with some games, especially if you use EAX.

LOL. Of course....

Should I recount how many frikkin EAX-related problems were listed on forums, say, last 12-24 months?

The point is Creative, despite the fact they even bought EMU, they never learned how to write a frikkin driver.

It's telling itself: a 3rd party driver SOUNDS MUCH better than their own shitty one...

 

[_xxx_]

It does, but it has no 3D functionality whatsoever.

I had many more problems in games with my old ESS or with my current Envy24-based card then I ever had with any Creative card since Sound Blaster...

 

[pcchen]

The point is Creative, despite the fact they even bought EMU, they never learned how to write a frikkin driver.

Ugh... it's not that EMU is particularly good at writing drivers. Actually, EMU's 1212M/1820M probably have the best driver of any EMU's (PC based) gears, and that's still not very good.

Other "high-end" cards are not very well either. Some cards are only useful under ASIO. Others have different sorts of problems. They do have high quality sounds, but to set-up them properly is usualy painful.

 

[epicstruggle]

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19914

WE SAID RECENTLY THAT mighty Creative Labs won't do Dolby Digital Live card but it Terratec is definitely up for it.

Very well informed sources tell us that Terratec is working on such a card. It will introduce it sometime in the second quarter of 2005.

epic

 

[MasterBaiter]

I wonder what chipset they'll be using since they don't make their own AFAIK. I would assume it's the Cmedia chipset.

 

[T2k]

I wonder what chipset they'll be using since they don't make their own AFAIK. I would assume it's the Cmedia chipset.

Most likely VIA - their current product line is built on Envy24 only.

 

[Vadi]

edit: Ok I'm dumb: you only get other than 4 channel 3d sound in games which specifically support 5.1 (for example). Well I guess I didn't inform myself well enough and I hope 5.1 becaomes standard in games.

 

[Accord1999]

edit: Ok I'm dumb: you only get other than 4 channel 3d sound in games which specifically support 5.1 (for example). Well I guess I didn't inform myself well enough and I hope 5.1 becaomes standard in games.

No, in nearly all games supporting DirectSound3D or OpenAL, you get as many discrete channels as the sound card drivers support. In the case of the A2 ZS, you get 7.0.

 

[Vadi]

Thanks! Creative is telling BS then! Also it seems that my hif-fi just crapped out (the center input is broken). I hope it's temporarily.

About the bass: Well maybe I was wrong. Seems like the bass is the same in stereo and 5.1 (and normal).

 

[MasterBaiter]

Thanks! Creative is telling BS then! Also it seems that my hif-fi just crapped out (the center input is broken). I hope it's temporarily.

About the bass: Well maybe I was wrong. Seems like the bass is the same in stereo and 5.1 (and normal).

Out of curiousity... which Creative card are you running? There may be a setting that you are missing in the control panel regarding bass. Could also be the way your speakers are connected as well. If my memory serves me, the connection for center channel and subwoofer are typically on the same jack (if run in 5.1 channel at least). If your jack is foobar, so is your sub and center channel....

 

[Vadi]

It's the Audigy2 ZS. It looks like the center input of my receiver is broken (I tried the center output with another input and it worked).

The software won't let you turn up the sub output (all channels can be adjusted from -12dB to +6dB but the sub goes only up to 0dB). The problem is my receiver has no bass management for the 6-channel input (Creative speaker sets do have). They say that's normal. I read complaints about low sub output of the Audigy cards so I thought I've got that also. I'll have to try it again.

 

[MasterBaiter]

There should be bass management in the Creative "speakers settings" tab that allows you to re-direct all of your bass to da sub. I'm running the same card and it works fine for me (I'm using some home theatre speakers through a receiver). I'm running a sub and 2 tactile transducers and all is good in the world.

 

[Vadi]

Yes I use that. Somehow it seemed I had more bass in stereo though (in Jagged Alliance 2). Thanks I'll try again!

 

[MasterBaiter]

My best guess (besides it being a potential Creative software issue) is that when it changes modes to stereo is that it does sound louder (volume increases by default). My receiver gives a significant bump in sound volume when I change to 2 channel mode. If it's just in the bass realm... I'm stumped. :?

 

[Vadi]

That's it! I noticed the same with my other Surround hi-fi! I thought this one would be louder because of its subs.

I tried it again and indeed the center input is broken. Luckily it is a seperate preamp so I hope I can get another one.

Now here comes the twist: When I set it to 4/4.1 the bass redirection is greyed out! I guess that's the real problem with the Audigys (the same with 2/2.1).

 

[linthat22]

I would just like to mention that the <$100 EMU 0404 is very popular over at head-fi.org. With a little modding it competes with audiophile CD players, apparently.

sounds cool, any info?